The Truth Within The Lies
by Matt Lundahl
Summary: Did Buffy and Faith actually switch back in (Who Are You?); set shortly after (Listening To Fear).


"Why does everything feel so wrong?" Buffy cried into her pillow, trying not to think about her dying mother, her imaginary sister or her emotionally distant boyfriend. "Why don't I feel like me?"  
"Could it be because you aren't?" Buffy looked up to see Faith standing before her; her eyes widened and she shot for the door, Faith quickly blocked her path. "Don't worry. I'm just a figment of your imagination. Here to tell you the truth about you and your favorite penetentiary pal Faith." she smiled.  
"What the Hell are you doing here?" Buffy's eyes began to water.  
"I told you, I've gotta tell you something." Buffy sat on the bed, staring weepingly up at her one-time foe. "You've been feeling pretty crappy for nearly a year now, haven't you, Faith?"  
"Yeah, I... what did you call me?" Buffy stood. "Who are you?"  
"You know very well who I am, now sit down and shut up, because you're not gonna like what I've gotta say." Faith walked slowly around the room. "You already know about the scrambled memories caused by your sister, so that'll make this easier."  
"Make WHAT easier?" Buffy struggled to keep tears from rolling down her face, but couldn't hold them in any longer.  
"You are not Buffy Summers." Buffy stood in silence.  
  
"How's the jail life treatin' ya?" Buffy smiled as she paced around the cell. "Good food? Nice people?"  
"What's the sitch, B? What makes a straight girl like you break into the home of a wanted murderer like me?" Faith asked, sitting against the wall on her cot. Buffy smiled.  
"Oh, you're not the murderer. And I wouldn't refer to this as a home."  
"What would you call it then?"  
"Wrong. You don't belong here, Buffy. You belong with your mother." Buffy told her.  
"Excuse me? I think you've got your head a little scrambled there, B. My name is Faith. F-A-I-T-H. Remember? Tried to kill you, you tried to kill me. It was all good fun."  
"No. You only THINK you're Faith. But I know better. And soon, you will too."  
  
"I am too Buffy Summers..." Buffy started. Faith shook her head slowly.  
"You remember when the body-swap occured, don'cha? You and Buffy, switching bodies..."  
"I AM Buffy!"  
"No. You only think you are. The funny thing about that event in history was... the two of you never really switched back." Buffy fell to the floor, crying.  
"Who... are... you?" she sobbed.  
"I'm the one who has to set things right."  
  
"So, Red didn't pull it off? What? If I'm not Faith, why do I have her memories?" Faith asked, chewing one of her fingernails.  
"That's the tricky part. Willow and Tara, although fine witches now, weren't at incredible strength when they conjured that Katra to switch your bodies back. Instead it malfunctioned. It swapped your auras and gave you each other's memories."  
"Uh... whatev. Does this mean you're gonna break me outta here? Because it might be a better idea to let me be all repenty first."  
"Buffy. Listen. For the last few months of that year... until the day that Dawn was created..."  
  
"...you had both your memories and hers. That's why you were so distant, so confused. You didn't know what was happening."  
"But... that doesn't make any sense..." Buffy started.  
"It was only reinforced when Jonathan placed that augmentation spell on himself. You assumed the role of Buffy, because he thought you WERE her."  
"What about Faith? She was still all evil and tried to kill Angel!" Buffy shouted.  
"She was confused. She had both of your memories, but nobody had put any new spell on her to push her into one of the two roles."  
  
"The roles of Buffy and of Faith?" Faith asked.  
"Precisely."  
"So... that's what caused my emotional breakdown? Not because I'm a psycho killer, but because I'm not who I think that I am?"  
"...pretty much."  
  
"So what do you want me to do with this information?" Buffy asked, still crying.  
"I want you to be Buffy. You have to pull yourself out of this slump. Yes; Your mother will die. Yes; you must protect your sister at all costs. Yes; your boyfriend needs you now more than ever. Just remember. All these things are now yours."  
"But..." Buffy began.  
"You are the slayer. You are Buffy Summers. You can't lay low, crying yourself to sleep in the nights. You have to accept the power, take the power, seize the power. Buffy's blood is your blood. You belong to the Summers family, and you have to live life as though it was never different."  
"I... I can do that."  
"You have her memories, you know her better than you know yourself." with that, the figure of Faith was gone, leaving Buffy alone in the room. She stood and looked in the mirror, wiping the tears from her face.  
"I am Buffy Summers."  
  
"So I have to stay... stay here in the prison? I have to be something I'm not?" Faith screamed.  
"You've been dealt a crud hand, what can I say? You've just gotta deal."  
"But..."  
"You are no longer Buffy Summers."  
"But... Faith is in my house... with my sister... it... it doesn't..."  
"Doesn't feel right to say it? Because you can't remember that life. You are Faith now. Just promise me. When the time comes, you will help Angel."  
"Angel... why would I need to help Angel?"  
"When the time comes, he will need you; this will present you with the opportunity to be free, to save the lives of your real family."  
"Thank you." the image of Buffy disappeared into nothing, leaving Faith all alone in the darkened cell. She stood and looked at the cold brick wall.  
"My name is Faith..." 


End file.
